The television industry in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
includes high-tech program production, transmission and coverage.
China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
is China's largest and most powerful national television station. By 1987, two-thirds of people in China had access to television, while today, over 3,000 channels are available in the country.
Chinese television drama Chinese television dramas ( Simplified Chinese: 中国电视连续剧), sometimes colloquially known as C-dramas, are television dramas originating from China or the Greater China region. China produces more television dramas than any other country ...
has also proven to be a hot spot in today's popular culture (similar to
K-dramas), with well received Chinese television dramas such as ''
Princess Agents
''Princess Agents'' () is a 2017 Chinese television series based on the novel ''11 Chu Te Gong Huang Fei'' (11处特工皇妃) written by Xiao Xiang Dong Er (潇湘冬儿). It stars Zhao Liying, Lin Gengxin, Shawn Dou and Li Qin.
The series aire ...
'', ''
Nirvana in Fire
''Nirvana in Fire'' () is a 2015 Chinese historical drama based on Hai Yan's book ''Lang Ya Bang (瑯琊榜)''. It was directed by Kong Sheng and Li Xue, and stars Hu Ge, Liu Tao and Wang Kai as Mei Changsu, Princess Nihuang and Prince Jing. ...
'', ''
The Journey of Flower
''The Journey of Flower'' () is a 2015 Chinese television series starring Wallace Huo and Zhao Liying. It is based on the fictional novel of the same name written by Fresh Guoguo, which is inspired from Daoist legends regarding the path to immo ...
'',
''Eternal Love'', ''
Story of Yanxi Palace'', ''
Ashes of Love'', ''
The Princess Weiyoung
''The Princess Weiyoung'' () is a 2016 Chinese television series starring Tiffany Tang in the title role, alongside Luo Jin, Vanness Wu, Mao Xiaotong and Li Xinai. It is adapted from the novel ''The Poisonous Daughter'' () by Qin Jian and is a f ...
'', ''
Love O2O Love O2O may refer to:
* ''Love O2O'' (film), 2016 Chinese film
* ''Love O2O'' (TV series), 2016 Chinese TV series
{{dab ...
'', ''
The Legend of Mi Yue
''The Legend of Mi Yue'' () is a 2015 Chinese television series directed by Zheng Xiaolong and based on eponymous historical novel. It stars Sun Li in the title role of Mi Yue. The series aired 2 episodes daily on Beijing TV and Dragon TV from 30 ...
'', ''
Scarlet Heart
''Scarlet Heart'' (, lit. ''Startling by Each Step'') is a 2011 Chinese television series based on the novel '' Bu Bu Jing Xin'' by Tong Hua. It premiered in China on Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) on 10 September 2011.
The series tells the s ...
'', and more garnering billions of views among China's most popular video websites,
iQiyi,
Youku
Youku Tudou Inc. (formerly Youku Inc.), doing business as Youku (), is a video hosting service based in Beijing, China. It operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
Youku has its headquarters in the Sinosteel Plaza in Haidian ...
,
Tencent Video
Tencent Video (, also called WeTV outside of China) is a Chinese video streaming website owned by Tencent. The website was launched in April 2011, and is one of China's largest online video platforms. As of March 2022, Tencent Video has over 1.2 ...
and
Le Video. Some dramas have been so popular and widely acclaimed that they were remade into different languages, as well as spinning off with a sequel.
Chinese variety scene has also become widely successful with popular shows such as
''Happy Camp'',
''Super Girl'', ''
Sing! China
''Sing! China'' (; formerly ) is a Chinese singing competition television series broadcast on Zhejiang Television. It premiered during the summer on 15 July 2016. It is a re-branded version of '' The Voice of China'', a show based on the orig ...
'' and more gaining worldwide recognition, garnering from millions to billions of viewership and winning numerous awards.
History
Origins
When the People's Republic was founded in 1949, the telecommunications systems and facilities in China were outdated and rudimentary, and many had been damaged or destroyed during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. Communications in China were established rapidly in the early 1950s. By 1952 the principal telecommunications network centered on
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, and links to all large cities had finally been established, enabling the launch of
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
s. The first
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in the world was
Rediffusion Television
Rediffusion Television (RTV) was the first television station in Hong Kong, making it both the first British colony and the first predominantly ethnically Chinese city to have television.Kitley, Philip. 003(2003). Television, Regulation and ...
(now
ATV, off-air since 2016), which launched in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
on May 29, 1957. On the
mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
, the first national broadcasts began on May 1, 1958, and
Beijing Television
Beijing Radio and Television Station (BRTV), formerly Beijing Media Network (BMN), is a government-owned television network in China. It broadcasts from Beijing. The channel is available only in Chinese.
Beijing Media Network was founded o ...
(now
China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
since 1978) was formally launched on September 2, 1958. A month later, the first regional station,
Shanghai Television was launched, on the 9th
National Day, which was on October 1, 1958. Liaoning Television would begin a year later, and in 1960, Zhejiang and Guandong provinces had their stations begin full broadcasts.
Growth in telecommunications halted with the general economic collapse after the
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruc ...
(1958–60) but revived in the 1960s: radio-television services were installed in major cities in these years. By 1965 there were 12
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
s in mainland China, 1 national and 11 regional (compared to approximately 700 conventional television stations and about 3,000
cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
channels
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
today). Similarly, in 1978, there was less than one
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
receiver per 100 people, and fewer than ten million Chinese had access to a television set (in 2003 there were about 35 TVs for every 100 people, and roughly a billion Chinese had access to television); expansion and modernization of the
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
systems continued throughout the late-1970s and early 1980s.
Until the mid-to-late 1970s, TV broadcasts started in the late afternoon and ended at midnight, with special daytime programs during the summer and winter vacations for students. BTV, at the same time, also expanded its programming reach, from the one channel the station started in 1958, the network grew to 3 channels in 1969.
The first Chinese color TV broadcasts was launched by
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
in 1967 and
China Television
China Television Company, Ltd. (CTV; ) (Formerly called Taiwan Daytime TV (TDT) in 1969-1975) is a television broadcasting company based in Taipei, Taiwan. It was established on September 3, 1968, by the then-ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) of ...
in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
in 1969. On the mainland, test color broadcasts started in 1971 on BTV Channel 2, and later spread towards the regional stations, and at the same time, BTV pioneered nationwide satellite broadcasts only for major events starting in 1972. BTV fully converted to color in 1973.
1980s
The Ministry of Radio and Television was established as a separate entity in 1982 to administer and upgrade the status of television and radio broadcasting. Subordinate to this ministry were the
Central People's Broadcasting Station,
Radio Beijing
China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in the Babaoshan area of Beijing's Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It later ...
, and
China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
. Additionally, the various broadcasting training, talent-search, research, publishing, and manufacturing organizations were brought under the control of the Ministry of Radio and Television. In 1986 responsibility for the movie industry was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the new Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television.
Radio and television expanded rapidly in the 1980s as important means of mass communication and popular entertainment. In 1982 television was by one measure available only to 350 million of China's population of 1 billion,
and was mostly watched on a communal basis.
By 1985 television reached two-thirds of the population through more than 104 stations (up from 52 in 1984 and 44 in 1983); an estimated 85 percent of the urban population had access to television. During this time, the content of the programming changed drastically from the political lectures and statistical lists of the previous period. Typical television shows were entertainment, including feature films, sports, drama, music, dance, and children's programming. In 1985 a survey of a typical week of television programming made by the Shanghai publication ''Wuxiandian Yu Dianshi'' (Journal of Radio and Television) revealed that more than half of the programming could be termed entertainment; education made up 24 percent of the remainder of the programming and news 15 percent. A wide cross section of international news was presented each evening. Most news broadcasts had been borrowed from foreign news organizations, and a Chinese summary was
dubbed over. China Central Television also contracted with several foreign broadcasters for entertainment programs. Between 1982 and 1985, six United States television companies signed agreements to provide American programs to China.
Since the late 1950s, people in
Pearl River Delta
The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
began to receive channels from Hong Kong with
coaxial cable
Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...
(1957-1973) and
Yagi–Uda antenna
A Yagi–Uda antenna or simply Yagi antenna, is a directional antenna consisting of two or more parallel resonant antenna elements in an end-fire array; these elements are most often metal rods acting as half-wave dipoles. Yagi–Ud ...
(1967 onwards). Hong Kong channels were considered more entertaining and had Cantonese shows. Such reception was banned by central government, but semi-accepted by local government. By the late 1980s, local channels began to syndicate shows from Hong Kong.
China launched its first television-broadcast satellite in 1986.
In 1987
China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
(CCTV), the state network, managed China's television programs. In 1985 consumers purchased 15 million new sets, including approximately 4 million color sets. Production fell far short of demand. Because Chinese viewers often gathered in large groups to watch publicly owned sets, authorities estimated that two-thirds of the nation had access to television. In 1987 there were about 70 million television sets, an average of 29 sets per 100 families. CCTV had four channels that supplied programs to the over ninety television stations throughout the country. Construction began on a major new CCTV studio in Beijing in 1985. CCTV produced its own programs, a large portion of which were educational, and the Television University in Beijing produced three educational programs weekly. The English-language lesson was the most popular program and had an estimated 5 to 6 million viewers. Other programs included daily news, entertainment, teleplays, and special programs. Foreign programs included films and cartoons. Chinese viewers were particularly interested in watching international news, sports, and drama (see
Culture of the People's Republic of China
The culture of the People's Republic of China is a rich and varied blend of traditional Chinese culture with communism, communist and other international modern and post-modern influences. During the Cultural Revolution, an enormous number of cu ...
).
1990s
In September 1993, after acquiring the
STAR TV Star TV may refer to:
* E! (Canadian TV channel) (formerly Star!), a Canadian entertainment news channel
* Las Estrellas (Spanish for The Stars), the Mexican television network
* Estrella TV (Spanish for Star TV), the American Spanish-language net ...
satellite network,
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
publicly declared:
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/apr/22/chinathemedia.rupertmurdoch](_blank)
/ref>
After this, the former prime minister Li Peng
Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chi ...
requested and obtained the ban of satellite dish
A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive or transmit information by radio waves to or from a communication satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radi ...
es throughout the country. Subsequently, the STAR TV network dropped the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
channels from its satellite offer. This, and many ensuing declarations from Murdoch, led critics to believe the businessman was striving to appease the Chinese government in order to have the ban lifted.
...